Canadian on death row 'bothered' by lack of support he's received from Ottawa

DEER LODGE, Mont. - With the clock ticking down toward a decision on
whether he lives or dies, the only Canadian on death row in the United
States is expressing regret and sadness for the crimes he committed and
the situation he finds himself in.But Ronald Smith is also angry
at the Canadian government for its "tepid" support of his clemency bid —
support that came only after Federal Court forced Ottawa to act on
Smith's behalf."It bothered me," Smith said in an interview with The Canadian Press at Montana State Prison — his home for the last 30 years.

"There
was no need to make it a point that: 'We're being forced into this.'
Come on, really? Am I that horrible a person that you have to be forced
to act like a human being?"I was a little grumpy about it."

Smith,
originally from Red Deer, Alta., has been on death row since 1982. A
drug-addicted drifter back then, Smith and an accomplice, both of them
high on LSD and booze, marched Thomas Running Rabbit and Harvey Mad Man
Jr. into the woods near East Glacier, Mont., and shot them in the head.They
were cold-blooded killings. Smith said he shot the men just to know how
it felt to take a life and because he wanted to steal their car.Smith
asked for and received a death sentence, but later changed his mind.
His legal avenues of appeal have all run out and the Montana Board of
Pardons and Parole has scheduled a hearing in May after which it will
make a recommendation on whether Smith should be spared. The final
decision will fall to Montana Gov. Brian Schweitzer.The governor indicated last fall there is nothing more difficult than deciding if someone lives or dies.

But he said Wednesday that he is going to let the parole board do its job.

"The
parole board is first stop shopping for someone who is asking for
clemency. They will make that first decision whether to make a
recommendation to the governor or not," Schweitzer said."It would
be inappropriate for me to say anything or allow someone to write
something about what this semi-judiciary board will be recommending."Prime
Minister Stephen Harper's Conservative government initially refused to
support Smith, saying he had been convicted in a democratic country. The
decision ran counter to a long-standing policy of seeking clemency for
Canadians sentenced to death in foreign lands. The Federal Court ruled
the government had to back Smith.The government did write a letter asking the board to spare Smith's life, but its public support for the bid has been minimal.

"The
government of Canada does not sympathize with violent crime and this
letter should not be construed as reflecting a judgment on Mr. Smith's
conduct,'' the letter said. "The government of Canada ... requests that
you grant clemency to Mr. Smith on humanitarian grounds.''The letter was signed by Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird.

"I
feel a little bit of both (anger and hurt)," Smith said. "They don't
know me. They're taking a look at what happened to me all that time ago.
They're not taking a look at anything else."I don't think it will hurt, but it's not going to be a benefit obviously."

If Smith does win clemency, he will still spend the rest of his life behind bars.

He realizes that he is likely to die in Montana State Prison. The only remaining questions are when and how.

He said the support of his family — he has a daughter and two grandchildren — has helped him through his time on death row.

And he realizes that he took two men away from their own loved ones.

"I've
always wanted an opportunity to step outside of all of this, and to be
able to apologize to the family and explain to them just everything
about me at that point in time. I was a completely different person,"
Smith said."I'm not looking for forgiveness. I don't think that
is a possibility. I can see what it did to my family, so it's got to be
considerably more to them because I'm still here. I've taken that away
from them so again I try not to dwell on it."Smith said he has turned to education to fill the long empty days.

He
achieved his Grade 12 equivalency and had hoped to help troubled youth
but realized that no one would trust him with their children. So he
recently turned his studies to the law in order to give legal advice to
others behind bars.Officials at the prison said he has been a model prisoner for the past 25 years.

If
Smith's bid for clemency fails, another execution date will be
scheduled and there won't be any last-minute appeals that can rescue him
from a lethal injection."I never did fear it. You've got to
remember I'm the one that asked for this. The fear of dying — there's
never been an issue with it. It is what it is. We all have to go at some
time," Smith said."It's got to be over. Thankfully we've hit
this point in time where there's no more long, drawn-out waiting. We're
going to get it over one way or another. It's like triple overtime."However his lack of fear about death doesn't mean he believes he will be going to a better place.

"I've
gotten into religious discussions here recently with a priest trying to
help me a develop a faith. The problem: I don't have the faith," he
said."It's hard for me to think that there is some benign being
out there watching over me and just waiting for me to accept him and
he'll pick me up with open arms and away we go," he added."I would like to believe, but it comes down to developing that faith aspect."

Family
members of Smith's victims said in the past that they wanted to see him
executed, but that feeling has subsided among at least one relative
recently.Jessica Crawford, Running Rabbit's daughter, said before
Christmas that she will ask the board to recommend clemency. She said
before seeing Smith in person at a hearing she had built him into some
kind of monster, but she then realized he is just a man.Smith said he isn't about to minimize what he did.

"She
was about the same age as my daughter when this all fell out. From a
child's perspective I was some kind of monster. I'm not saying that I
wasn't ...I killed people."I was a monster at the time. It's not who I am now."

Posted Feb-23-2012 By

Apples01

Posted Feb-23-2012 By

3verygoodreasons

Yep, sorry mate. If you wanted to go committing capital offences just to see what it feels like to do so, then guess what? You have no right to bitch, complain, or beg when you also get to experience capital punishment. Regardless of how much you have improved yourself, its too late once you've committed the crime. What you did cant be taken back, neither should you sentence. In all honesty, you should have been executed sooner!

Posted Feb-23-2012 By

michael567

This guy is the worse kind of savage. He feels its ok to murder two people and destroy families, but doesn't think he should pay the price. His only regret is probably getting caught. He did not give a rats ass about those two victims he murdered. Fry this sicko.

Posted Feb-23-2012 By

TEX

Posted Feb-23-2012 By

Czechit2007

It is not the issue of nationality. Its an issue of justice for the two victims and to rid a usless scumbag from killing again. Doesn't matter where you are from, if you kill you will pay. Rot in hell scum bag.

Posted Feb-23-2012 By

Meat Hammer

Posted Feb-23-2012 By

Hiarken

i say put it to the victim's families. See what they want to do. What would they consider to be justice?

A lot of us come from troubled child hoods and dysfunctional families. And yet, here we are.....we are not killing someone else just to see how it fucking feels! How selfish is that shit?!!?! So he says that he was young and now knows better....Tough shit you asshat! Most of us know right from wrong as a basic function....like breathing. You deserve whatever you get coming to you. NoMore..w you are whining about how you feel hurt or angry because you feel as though you are not getting the support that you think you deserve? WOW. I voted that you stay in a prison cage for the rest of your wasted life. I would not be heart broke if you slipped and fell on a sharpened tooth brush handle or some other form of "accident". Some folks are just bad apples from the get-go.Less..

Posted Feb-23-2012 By

Chuppacobra

@Chuppacobra I'm not sure that having the families decide is a good idea. Not because it's unfair or inhumane, but because that is a heavy burden to be placed on the family.
The justice system should do it's job so the families don't have to.

Posted Feb-23-2012 By

TheYeastLord

Posted Feb-23-2012 By

Chuppacobra

Unfortunately your "regret and sadness" won't bring back the people you killed just to see how it felt, now you will get to see how it feels. Canada can have you back once you're cold, as long as they pay for the 30 years you've been rotting in the can. Enjoy your needle scumbag.